Card holder and dialer



July 19, 1966 c so L 3,261,649

CARD HOLDER AND DIALER Filed July 17, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORSRev [A ICKS N RoaRT L. kuEA/ZEL July 19, 1966 R ERICKSON ETAL 3,261,649

CARD HOLDER AND DIALER Filed July 1'7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.RoY ERICK s oN R0 BER r L M/E/vzEL United States Patent 3,261,649 CARDHOLDER AND DIALER Roy Erickson, Deerfield, and Robert L. Kuenzel,Wilmette, Ill., assignors to Dial-A-Card, Inc, Northfield, 111., acorporation of Illinois Filed July 17, 1964, Ser. No. 383,361 Claims.(Cl. 312189) This invention relates to a card holder and sorter and itrelates more particularly to the combination of a holder for dialing aplurality of cards for separation and selection of one or more and apunch for preparation of the cards to be mounted in the holder whereby aregular calling card can be dialed, and to a process for using same.

A number of card holders and separators are available on the market foruse by busy executive ofiice help and the like but these are subject toa number of deficiencies in that the holder is adapted only for use withcards prefabricated or punched for use with same. The cards cling one toanother or they travel in groups whereby separation for selection of anindividual card often times becomes frustrating; and the device requiresthe reproduction of information to be carried on a card to provide theinformation that is adapted to be made available by the device.

The additional time and effort required for the latter usually leads tothe personal calling card to be set aside until a later date with theresult that the information is often lost and not reproduced on a cardadapted to be used with the device. As a result, such information is notavailable later when it might be needed.

It would, of course, be desirable and it is an object of this inventionto provide a device of the type described which is adapted to receivecalling cards and the like information as it is first made available;which is adapted to process calling cards for use in the device in thesame manner as any card originally supplied for use with the device;which operates properly to align the cards, independent of dimension orsize, for orientation with respect to a constant reference point therebyto adapt the device for functioning with cards independent of theirdimensions or size; which operates to deal the cards individually from areference point for separation of the cards to enable easy and quickselection of one or more thereof; which operates to shuflle the cardsproperly to align the cards with a constant reference point to maintaina desirable separation thereof, and which enables a large number ofcards to be replaceably mounted in the device for easy and quickintroductionof cards or for easy and simple removal of cards forpurposes of maintaining the file up to date.

Another object of this invention is to produce a new and improved cardholder in which a multiplicity of calling cards and other informationcards can be mounted and dialed for rapid exposure of individual cardsfor selection and it is a related object to provide a punch mechanism incombination with the card holder wherein cards can be punched for use inthe holder and whereby certain data and information, such as a code, mayalso be incorporated into the card for use of the card in automatictelephone dialing, addressing, automatic read-out of punchedinformation, and the like.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention willhereinafter appear and, for purposes of illustration, but not oflimitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective elevational view of the card holder and dialingdevice embodying the features of this invention;

3,261,649 Patented July 19, 1966 "ice FIG. 2 is a perspective view of acalling card which may be processed for use in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective elevational view of the card punched in a mannerfor use with the holder device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective elevational view of a card punched with anotherpattern for use with the holder device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along theline 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevational view taken crosswise through thecenter of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevational view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG.6 showing the arrangement of elements when the wheel is rotated in onedirection;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view taken along the line 3-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view similar to that of FIG. 8 but showing thearrangement of elements in reaction to the displacement of cards acrossthe flipper of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken crosswise of the portion shown in FIG.7 but with the wheel rotated in the opposite direction;

FIG. ll is a schematic view in perspective of a modification in thepunch card arrangement; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a further modification in theflipper arrangement.

The card device of this invention embodies the combination of a punchassembly 20 adapted to provide a desired coding on the card and adaptedto provide the desired slotted arrangement for adaptation of aconventional calling card C to be received in the holder for use aloneor alongside pre-punched cards with proper alignment between the cardsfor orientation along a predetermined reference point and it includes aholder 22 wherein the punched cards are mounted with means for dialingthe cards to enable individual select-ions thereof.

The assembly comprises a housing having a base plate 30 with spaced feet32 for resting flat upon a supporting surface with sidewalls 34 and 36extending upwardly from the base in laterally spaced apart relation todefine a card holding section in between.

The die section 20 includes a die plate 40 fixed to the bottom wall 30on the forward end portion thereof with the die plate 40 dimensioned tohave a width corresponding to the width of the bottom wall so as to bereceived in fitting relationship between the portions of the side walls34 and 36 which extend upwardly for a short distance from the bottomwall to cover the opening between the die plate and the punched plate 42dimensioned to have a width corresponding to that of the die plate.

The punched plate which overlies the die plate is mounted for rockingmovement in the direction toward and away from the die plate on pivotpins 44 which extend through crosswise aligned openings 46 in therearward portions of the side walls 34 and 36 and into engagement with arearward end portion of the punch plate. The punch plate is resilientlyurged towards its raised position in spaced relation with the die plateby spring members 48 located therebetween. The punch plate is shaped toprovide a rectangularly shaped recess portion 50 in the forward endportion to receive a punch die 52 and means are provided to limit themovement of the punch plate and die to raised positions. Such means, inthe illustrated modification, comprises a depending portion 54 beyondthe pivot 44 which comes into engagement with the bottom wall when theplate is in raised position. When in raised position, the die plate isspaced from the bottom plate to enable a card C to be insertedtherebetween.

The die plate is provided with a design pattern of die cuts 56 and thepunch plate is provided with a corresponding pattern of punches 58 forcooperating with the die plate to punch out portions of the cardinserted therebetween when the die plate is depressed manually orotherwise to displace the punches into the die openings.

The die plate is provided with lateral stops 60' and endwise stops 62properly to orient the punched out section with reference to the leftedge and by the edge of the card when the card is inserted with thebottom edge foremost.

The card holder 22 comprises a cylindrical member 60 dimensioned to havea length greater than the spaced relationship between the walls 34 and36 with the walls having crosswise aligned openings 62 of a diametercorresponding to the diameter of the cylindrical member to enable theend portions of the latter to extend therethrough rotatably to mount thecylindrical member thereon. Cylindrical heads 64 are fixed onto theportions of the cylindrical members extending beyond the wall for use asa dial to rotate the cylindrical members relative the housing.

The cylindrical member 60, intermediate its ends, is provided with anannular flange 66 with portions or arms 68 extending laterally from theouter periphery thereof to provide a guide flange of T shape. While onlyone such guide member is sufficient, more than one in laterally spacedapart relation can be used for greater stabilization of the mountedcards, if desired. Instead of a T member the portion on the end may be abulbous portion which will have the same effect as the T and it will beunderstood that the term T and T slot as hereinafter employed will bemeant to include such bulbous member and correspondingly shaped slot.

Spaced inwardly from the left end thereof and adjacent the side wall 36of the housing, another annular flange 70 extends outwardly radiallyfrom the cylindrical member with a portion 72 extending inwardly fromthe outward end thereof to define an annular collar 74 concentric withthe cylindrical member but spaced outwardly a short distance from theperiphery thereof. Since the T guide 68 and the collar 74- form a partof the cylindrical member or are otherwise fixed thereto, the describedelements will rotate together relative to the housing responsive toturning movement of the dial 64 in one direction or the other. It willbe understood that instead of mounting the cylindrical member 60 withportions extending through the housing walls for support of the dials,other means such as a shaft connected to the cylindrical member and tothe dial may be employed rotatably to mount the members onto the sidewalls of the housing.

The die and the punch are formed so that when a card is inserted intothe space between the die plate and the punch plate to position theleading edge of the card against the backward stop and to position theleft edge. of the card against the left hand stop, slots will be punchedin the card to provide a T slot 80 in the lead-, ing edge of the card ata position spaced from the left edge by an amount corresponding to thespaced relationship between the T guide 68 and the base of the collar 74on the cylindrical members with the T slot 80 being of largercross-section than the T guide 68 but with the stem 82 of the T slot 80being of a width less than the cross arm 68 of the T member so that thecard will hang on the T member when the T member is displaced into theslot. A second slot 84 is formed to extend inwardly from the left edgeof the card spaced. from the leading edge 86 by an amount correspondingto the spaced relationship between the collar '74 and the periphery ofthe cylindrical member 66 and with the slot 84 dimensioned to have alength and width slightly greater than the collar 74 to receive thecollar therein when the card is mounted on the cylinder with the T guide68 in the T slot 880. Thus when the cards are mounted with the T guide68 in the T slot and with the collar 74 in the edge slot 84, the card isretarded by the T guide 68 from lateral movement to withdraw the collarfrom the slot. Similarly, both the T guide 68 and the collar 74 operateto prevent endwise radial displacement of the card from off itssupports. As a result, the card is supported radially and laterally fromdisplacement from the cylindrical member while being free to shiftperipherally about the member or to rock about the member with thecylindrical member more or less as the. Thus the plurality of cards areretained in.

pivot point. relative positions on the cylindrical member for rotationwith the member as it is turned.

A curvilinear, substantially cylindrical housing 90 is provided having aradius greater than the radius of the cylindrical member plus the heightof the cards mounted thereon and the cylindrical housing is fixed to thewalls partially to enclose the space in which the cards are rotated withthe rotor. The semi-cylindrical housing section is mounted more or lessconcentrically about the axis of the rotor.

An important concept of this invention resides in the construction of acard holder to include a flipper 92 positioned to flip the cards in amanner properly to position the cards on the rotor and effectively toseparate the cards for dealing the cards singly instead of in bundles.For this purpose, a spring arm 94 is secured to the inner wall along thebottom side of the housing with a spring finger 96 turned upwardly inthe direction towards the rotor with the end of the finger positioned toengage the lower edge portions of the cards adjacent the side oppositethe collar.

As the rotor 60 is turned in the counter-clockwise direction, asindicated by the arrow in FIG. 7, the lower outer corner portions of thecards are brought into engagement with the spring finger 96 whereby thecards are bent slightly until the outer edge 98 clears the innervertical edge 100 of the finger to flip the cards one at a time as theypass by. The flip finger 96 thus operates not only to effect separationby flipping the cards but the finger operates effectively to displacethe cards laterally in the direction towards the collar 74 uniformly toalign the left side edges of the cards during displacement by the rotor,as indicated by the pictorial representation in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

In such instances where some of the cards are wider than others, thespring tfinger will remain effective to bring about a lateraldisplacement of the cards to align the left hand edges but, instead ofbeing flipped as they pass beyond the inner edge of the finger, thecards may be flexed rearwardly and upwardly until the lower edge of thecards, at the right hand side, clears the upper edge of the finger 96and is thereby flipped for separation and displacement.

In response to turning of the rotor in the clockwise direction, thebottom spring finger 96 will again operate to align the left hand edgesof the cards while flipping the cards in dealing the cards for use, asillustrated in FIG. 10.

Means are also provided for resiliently retaining the cards in anupright position and for feeding the cards separately from uprightposition as the rotor continues to be turned in the clockwise or in thecounter-clockwise direction.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the retainer and separator comprise ahorizontally disposed plate fixed to the side wall of the housingadjacent the left hand edges of the cards. The platform is positioned insubstantially vertical alignment with the axis of the rotor 60 andarranged to extend inwardly from a position spaced from the axis by adistance less than the sum of the radius of the rotor plus the height ofthe card but greater than the sum of the radius of the rotor andone-half the height of the card so as to be aligned with the upper lefthand corner portion of the aligned edges of the cards.

The platform is provided on its upper surface with a guide block 112fixed to the central portion of the platform 110 and having a pair ofcam edges 114 extending inwardly from about the mid-portion to the outeredge of the guide block to define a trapezoidal end section 116. A pairof pawls 118 and 120 are mounted on the upper surface of the platform onopposite sides of the block 112 for rocking movement about pivot pins122 and 124 respectively lengthwise aligned with about the base of thetrapezoidal section 116 to enable rocking movement of the spaced pawlsin a horizonal plane about their respective pivots. The pawls are formedwith outer edges 126 of curvilinear shape and with straight inner edges128 and they are dimensioned to extend from the pivot to a point beyondthe platform and to bring the curvilinear end portions into the path ofthe aligned left hand edges of the cards. While not essential, thefunctions of the pawls can be improved by the arrangement to include aspring or other resilient member 119 therebetween continuously to urgethe pawls toward their straight position.

In operation, the straight inner edges 128 of the pawls are positionedto enable the angled sections 114 of thetrapezoidal block 112 to effecta stop when the pawls are in their displaced position. The straight sideedges 128 operate also to engage the side walls in the rearward portionof the block 112 to function as a stop in their nor mal or straightposition. In the preferred arrangement, the angle on the block and thelength of the pawls are calculated slightly to space the end of one pawlfrom the inner end of the other when one or the other is in displacedposition while the other is in normal position.

Thus, as the edges of the cards are displaced by the rotor in thecounter-clockwise direction, as shown in 'FIG. 9, the engagement betweenthe edges of the cards and the pawl 118 causes the pawl first engaged tobe rocked to displaced position while the other remains stopped innormal position. The spring members 119, when present, will tend to givethe effect of a thumb rifliing action. Thus the edges of the oncomingcards are flexed as they pass over the curvilinear cam edge 126 of thefirst pawl 118 and are flexed into the space 130 between the pawls asthe end of the first pawl is cleared by the card. Thus the card becomesentrapped between the pawls for support in the upright position whilethe cards in advance have passed beyond the second pawl 120 to fall fromin front of the entrapped card fully to expose the card for reading.

As the rotor is continued to be rotated, the left hand edge of the cardproceeds to engage the straight edge 128 of the second pawl 120 to againflex the card and flip the card as the edge clears the end of the secondpawl. It will be apparent that such flipping action will operate toeffect separation of the cards whereby one or the other of the cards canbe more easily selected for reading or for removal. It will beunderstood that the angularity and the dimensional characteristics ofthe spaced pivoted pawls 118 and 120, in operated and normal positions,may be such as to eliminate the space 130 in between when one is inoperated and the other is in normal position. In such event, only aneffective separation by flipping is achieved.

It will be apparent that the same results will be achieved in responseto turning of the rotor in the opposite direction, only in such eventthe functions of the pawls will be reversed in that the one 120 will berocked upon engagement to operated position while the other 118 will bereturned to normal position.

By way of modification, as illustrated in FIG. 11, more leverage isgained in the card punching operation when, instead of pivotallymounting the punch plate for rocking movement about a pivot at therearward end, the punch plate is pivoted at for rocking movement about aforward end portion adjacent the punch members. The forward end portionremains spaced by an amount sufficient to permit insertion of a cardbetween the plate members and actuation of the punch is effected bydepression of the rearward portion of the punch plate thereby to providegreater leverage in the punching operation. This calls for less pressureon the punch plate to effect rocking movement of the punch plate aboutits pivot to effect the desired formation of the punched pattern on theinserted card.

By way of a still further modification, as illustrated in FIG. 12, ithas been found sufficient to achieve the desired riflling action whenonly one pawl 142 is mounted to extend axially from a portion spacedvertically from the drum into the path of the adjacent lateral edges ofthe cards rotated with the drum. In the modification illustrated in FIG.12, the pawl is rigidly secured to its support and is positioned toextend forwardly from the support at about the level to engage the upperend portions of the lateral edges of the cards, as previously defined.As illustrated in the drawings, use can be made of a pair of spacedapart pawls of the described rigid construction to provide for thedesired riffling action and to provide support of the cards in areadable upright position when disposed therebetween.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the details ofconstruction, arrangement, operation and materials of which the deviceis formed without departing from the spirit of the invention, especiallyas defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A card holder comprising a housing having a base portion and verticalside walls extending upwardly from the base portion in spaced apartrelation by an amount greater than the crosswise dimension of the cards,a spindle mounted for rotational movement between the side walls andspacer vertically from the base by a distance greater than the height ofthe cards, means releasably mounting the cards on the spindle forrotational movement with the spindle, a segment of 'acylindricallyshaped housing mounted between the side walls anddimensioned to have a radius greater than the radius of the spindle plusthe height of the cards and a width greater than the width of the cards,a flipper member in the form of an elongate spring finger secured to thebottom portion of the inner peripheral surface of the housing andextending upwardly therefrom .into the path of the outer edges of thecards mounted on the spindle and adjacent a lateral edge thereof wherebywhen the spindle is rotated with the cards, the flipper member engagesthe edge portions of the cards to cause bending movement of the cards inthe crosswise direction as well as in the lengthwise direction as thecards are rotated to clear the flipper element.

2. A card holder comprising a housing having a base portion and sidewalls extending upwardly from the base portion in spaced apart relationgreater than the crosswise dimension of the cards, a spindle mounted forrotational movement between the side wall members and spaced vertically.from the base portion by an amount greater than the height of the cards,means releasably mounting the cards on the spindle for rotational movement with the spindle and for movement about the periphery of thespindle, a card support and separating member spaced vertically aboutthe axis of the spindle by an amount corresponding to the radius of thespindle plus one-half the length of the cards to the radius of thespindle plus the length of the cards and along one edge of the cards,with an end portion extending axially into the path of the cards toengage the edge portions of the cards adjacent their outer lateral edgesto effect separaration of the cards as they pass by and in which thecard holder and separating means comprises a pair of 7 laterally spacedapart pawl members positioned to engage the lateral edges of the cardson the spindle and separately to receive a card therebetween duringrotation of the spindle to support the separated card in verticalposition.

3. A card holder as claimed in claim 2 in which the pawl members aremounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis.

4. A card holder as claimed in claim 3 which includes a positioningblock between the pawl members to limit rocking movement of the pawlmembers between outwardly extending position and engaged position withthe end portion inclined toward the direction of the other pawl member.

5. A card holder as claimed in claim 4 which includes resilient meansconstantly urging the pawl members towards their normal outwardlyextending position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1895 WhitesideQ l29-7 1/1898 Casler 129-16 4/1927 Bondeson 1297 7/ 1931 Dobrowsky 40728/1955 OHara 12916 9/1956 Neilson 312-189 7/1959 Frost 3 12-183 10/1961Dahrn 312-184 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/ 1920 France. 3/ 1947 France.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

1. A CARD HOLDER COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING A BASE PORTION AND VERTICALSIDE WALLS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE PORTION IN SPACED APARTRELATION BY AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN THE CROSSWISE DIMENSION OF THE CARDS,A SPINDLE MOUNTED FOR ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS ANDSPACER VERTICALLY FROM THE BASE BY A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT OFTHE CARDS, MEANS RELEASABLY MOUNTING THE CARDS ON THE SPINDLE FORROTATIONAL MOVEMENT WITH THE SPINDLE, A SEGMENT OF A CYLINDRICALLYSHAPEDHOUSING MOUNTED BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS AND DIMENSIONED TO HAVE A RADIUSGREATER THAN THE RADIUS OF THE SPINDLE PLUS THE HEIGHT OF THE CARDS ANDA WIDTH GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE CARDS, A FLIPPER MEMBER IN THEFORM OF AN ELONGATE SPRING FINGER SECURED TO THE BOTTOM PORTION OF THEINNER PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF THE HOUSING AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROMINTO THE PATH OF THE OUTER EDGES OF THE CARDS MOUNTED ON THE SPINDLE ANDADJACENT A LATERAL EDGE THEREOF WHEREBY WHEN THE SPINDLE IS ROTATED WITHTHE CARDS, THE FLIPPER MEMBER ENGAGES THE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE CARDS TOCAUSE BENDING MOVEMENT OF THE CARDS IN THE CROSSWISE DIRECTION AS WELLAS IN THE LENGTHWISE DIRECTION AS THE CARDS ARE ROTATED TO CLEAR THEFLIPPER ELEMENT.